Need to pay your tax bill but struggling to work out how you’re going to pay it off in time? We know this can be stressful. If you find yourself in this situation, we’re here to help.
Can’t pay your tax bill in full? You may be eligible to set up a payment plan. This will allow you to pay in instalments over time, ideally over the shortest possible period.
This article explains how to manage your tax debt with a payment plan, including how to check if you’re eligible for an ATO payment plan. Keep in mind, payment plans accrue interest. So, if you’re able to pay in full and on time, it’ll save you from paying extra in interest in the long run.
Don’t forget - payment plans accrue interest. If you can pay in full and on time, it’ll save you in the long run!
To set up a payment plan online, you’ll need to have your ATO account linked to your myGov.
From the menu select Tax > Payments > Payment plans. This will bring up the 'Payment plans' screen allowing you to select the button to Add a payment plan.
When you set up your payment plan you can set up payments to be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or pay a lump sum.
To start your payment plan you’ll need to make an up-front payment followed by regular instalments. To keep you from paying too much interest, complete your payment plan in the shortest possible timeframe that fits with your circumstances.
If I have an ATO payment plan, will my tax refund be used to pay off the debt?
Yes. If you’ve got a debt with us, we’re required by law to use any credits or refunds to pay off or reduce what you owe. Keep in mind, this won’t replace your required payment plan instalments.
In some cases, we can also use credits you get from other government agencies to pay off your debts.
In some circumstances we’ll also use your refund to pay other Australian Government agencies if you owe them money.
If there are any credits left over once all your debts are paid, we’ll refund them to you.
When you view your payment plan online, you can choose the option Update payment plan. This allows you to change the date and/or the amount for each instalment.
If you want to modify a payment date, amount or cancel an instalment online you’ll need to do this:
one business day before the instalment date, if the payment method is direct debit via credit or debit card
3 business days before the instalment date, if the payment method is direct debit via your bank accounts.
Sometimes modifying a payment plan isn’t an option. In that case you may have to cancel your existing payment plan and start a new one. If you do this online, you may have to make another upfront payment.
Note: you won’t be able to make changes online if your current plan is longer than 24 months, or if the changes will extend the plan more than 24 months.
Can I change the payment method used for my ATO payment plan online?
You can also unlink your payment plan from one credit or debit card to another.
Why isn't my extra payment showing up on my ATO payment plan?
Our systems aren't instant. They don't check for payments before the due date. It should be visible on your statement of account but won't deduct from your payment plan until your regular payment date.
If you make a payment over the Christmas period, it won't process until we return in the new year. Don't worry, we don't count this as a late payment.
What should I do if I've missed a payment on my ATO payment plan?
We recommend setting up direct debits to pay your due amount a couple of days early to avoid missing a payment. Prefer manual payments? You can set up SMS reminders when you start your payment plan.
If it's a single payment that's defaulted, your account may show up as in arrears. You can make a catch-up payment before your next payment is due.
Does the ATO charge interest on payment plans?
Yes, that's why we encourage you to pay in full and on time if you're able to.
General interest charge (GIC) will start accruing from when your original bill was due. To minimise how much GIC you'll need to pay, it's best to complete your payment plan in the shortest timeframe you can.
Hi Team, why is it that the payment options are not showing with installment schedule anymore in the final PDF print out? Could you please do something about it? We want all the payment options to show including the credit or debit card option with the easypay link. Thank you.
You can still view your payment plan details in your ATO Online services, but the system doesn’t generate a downloadable or printable PDF directly from the payment plan screen.
If you go to, Accounts and payments > then select Payment plans it should show your:
instalment schedule
account balance
payment method
payment frequency
due dates and the status of past payments.
You can use the print‑friendly view from the account's summary screen, which shows your account balances and transaction history. This can be downloaded or printed for your records (although it won’t display the instalment schedule in the same format as the payment plan screen).
For making payments, you can access payment options through the payments menu. This includes:
credit or debit card
BPAY, and
the relevant payment reference number (PRN).
You should have also received a payment plan confirmation letter either through Australia post or electronically to your myGov mailbox when your plan was set up. This letter outlines the instalment schedule and available payment options. If you can't access it yourself, you can call us and ask for a copy to be sent out.
Is the payment plan wizard down? I've tried multiple times to engage in a payment plan on the ATO site and after finalising my contact details it just errors out.
The error code I receive is - ATOO-1769047985692
(Posting here because it doesnt seem that theres a direct contact with Tech Support for ATO)
Hi, So I am a little bit confused about the payment plan, so I applying payment plan at 25 July and my first payment should be at 25 July but I saw the status still "in progress" so I decided to pay when the status change to "Finalised", but until now the status didn't change, so I decided to just pay as it's already overdue (the first payment), as my financial now already stable, can I just pay all of them? would you mind to explain me how ? should i just cancel the payment plan?
You can definitely pay your account in full. You don't have to pay the individual payments, just make one lump sum payment for the outstanding amount. You don't need to cancel the payment plan, it will auto finalise once the account balance is paid off.
No, it won't automatically set up as direct debit. This is an option you should when creating your payment plan. If you didn't select this option, then the payments will need to be done by either direct deposit or BPAY. The easiest way is to set up periodical payments via your bank that way it's like a direct debit, and you don't miss a payment.
Urgent..... I have set up a payment plan to be paid by direct debit. I just need confirmation that the upfront payment will also come out by direct debit? ( I don't need to do anything else apart from making sure the funds are available!) Please help.
Hello, I have tried calling and, similarly to other commenters, have to go through the whole verification process only to be told the ATO is too busy to answer my call. I have two payment plans and I am struggling to pay both of them at the same time and was hoping perhaps I could pause one and make some headway on the other, before paying them both again. Can someone please get in touch with me? Thanks so much.
Had called to set up a payment plan months ago but was told we needed to wait for amendments. Now we've received a letter from the debt collector! I have tried calling quite literally every day for the past week to find out what the activity statement fee is, and to set up a payment plan. We have been hung up on multiple times, passed around from person to person as no one seems to be able to help, given direct numbers to call but nobody answers, and sat on hold for hours and hours at a time until it's outside of your trading hours and the call automatically ends. We are getting very frustrated to say the least. I want to speak to someone! Please provide an email address or have someone call me directly.
We've been in touch with our lodge and pay area and need some more details from you. Keep an eye out for an email from us, we'll reach out to your email address you used to register for ATO Community.
I've been trying to call for two weeks after spotting a letter in my myGov Inbox that I didn't know existed, and no matter how early I call I always go through the whole verification process, then placing me in a queue, only to be told the phones are too busy and no can answer the call and your service ends the call. Is there some other way I can actually speak to someone? The due date has passed thanks to no letter notification so I'm conscious that the next step if I can't speak to someone is a debt collector. If I can't speak to or email someone how else can I rectify this?
Sorry you're having a tough time getting through. Let's try to get this sorted for you. Do you need assistance with organising a payment plan? Or do you need the debt explained to you?
I just asked a new question relating to an overdue status appearing on one of the months in my progress payment (15th Nov 2023). Pre and post payments are all displaying paid, and when I double check my CBA bank account I can see that payment was debited correctly. Anyone from ATO able to call me and help? It's basically impossible trying to reach anyone by phone!
